Tropical market daze

At Rapid Creek Markets, the growers have been arriving in their
vans and station wagons since around 2am. They've unpacked their
wares: golden turmeric, pink-tipped galangal, and Asian greens and
chillies of every description.

By the time the dawn becomes a bright, hot morning, the markets
are pulsing with colour, noise and action. The stallholders and the
early-bird shoppers swap chirpy greetings: sawadee ka, selamat
pagi. You would swear you were somewhere in south-east Asia, if it
weren't for the presence of Greek matriarchs laden with kilos of
fat eggplants to stuff or layer into moussaka.

The scene is typical of Darwin, a city that's closer to Asia
than it is to the rest of Australia, both geographically and in
spirit - and likes it that way. The northern capital is home to
people representing over 100 cultures (including indigenous
Australians), each somehow managing to retain its essence. It's
more a melange than a melting pot.

Darwin's many markets, up to seven a week in the busy dry season
from April to October, are a visible expression of the city's
diversity. You could actually experience them all with a four-day
market crawl starting at Mindil Beach Sunset Markets on a Thursday
night, followed by Palmerston Markets the next night. Saturday
morning you'd drive south for about half an hour to visit the rural
Coolalinga Markets before heading back to the city for the Parap
Village Markets. Sunday's a big day. Set the alarm clock early to
see the best of the Rapid Creek Markets, head over to Nightcliff
Markets late morning and then have a bit of a rest before the
Sunday afternoon markets back at Mindil Beach.

Each market has its own distinct personality. Rapid Creek,
Darwin's oldest markets, are the place to go year-round for produce
and plants on Sunday mornings. The surrounds, a suburban shopping
centre and bituminised car park, are less than glamorous, but
regulars know these markets have the zingiest mint, the zippiest
betel leaves and the springiest fresh rice noodles. The advice on
how to cook with them comes free of charge - don't dawdle, though,
because the best stuff sells fast.

No one knows this better than the well-travelled Sri Lankan-born
Jimmy Shu, owner of the Hanuman restaurants in Darwin, Alice
Springs and now Cairns, who comes to Rapid Creek whenever he's back
in his hometown. He's there before sunrise to start stocking up on
kangkung, or water spinach, lemongrass, basil, kaffir lime and
pandan leaves.

"When I'm in town you'll see me at the markets at 5.30am," he
says. "Darwin has the perfect climate for this tropical produce -
it's all on our doorstep. It's very fresh. What I like about the
markets is that you can touch all the produce. You tap the basil
and then smell your fingers and you can tell how fresh it is."

One suburb along, at Nightcliff Markets, the vibe is a bit more
let's-hang-around-a-while. Good food and coffee, live music and
large shade trees create a backdrop that suits the contemplation of
purchases at Darwin's newest all-year markets, established in
1996.

At Nightcliff, you can breakfast on fresh Vietnamese rice paper
rolls, a Cambodian larb salad, or a Malaysian roti wrap of flaky
flatbread encasing tender spiced beef, peanut sauce and crisp
shredded cucumber and carrot. Then have your tarot cards read or
pick up a quirky local gift to take home: maybe a packet of dried
mango from Ed's Dried Fruits, a cotton skirt hand-printed with
dragonflies, pretty earrings made from folded wrapping paper, or
the not-so-pretty Emo Barbie, a snip at $25. The markets also have
some produce, including fresh fruit and, out-of-season, handy packs
of frozen mango cheeks.

Nightcliff's coordinator is Ross Dudgeon, who has also been in
charge of Mindil Beach Sunset Markets and Parap Village Markets.
"One of the things I love about the markets is that they bring
people together," he says, "and you know that the food is freshly
cooked. The stalls are like an open kitchen."

Over in slightly flasher Parap, where food and craft markets are
held year-round on Saturday mornings, the unofficial uniform for
women is pearls and Havaianas, while for men it's boardies and
smart-arse T-shirts. For some locals it's akin to a religious rite:
come to Parap for breakfast or brunch, choose the ingredients for
Saturday night's dinner party - a platter of Thai sweets makes the
quickest dessert ever - and buy an armful of heliconias and
ornamental gingers from Henning Hintze's long-standing flower stall
to tizz up the dining room.

Parap Village Markets are something of a social hub, with plenty
of hand-shaking, back-slapping and cheek-kissing.

Right in the thick of it is the perennially smiling Bobby
Wibisono, also known as 'Bobby Saté'. His Saté Lontong Jakarta
stall, now being run by his niece Patimah Core, has been serving
incomparable lamb and beef satay, compressed rice known as lontong,
and gado gado for well over 20 years. The quality of his satay,
cooked over imported charcoal on a stainless steel stove he
designed himself, keeps his regulars coming back - including
customers from Sydney and Melbourne who order 50 or 60 satay sticks
at a time to take home after a Darwin sojourn.

For the record, Bobby's favourite market food is a chocolate and
fresh strawberry crêpe from Ken's Crêpes - and Ken comes to Bobby
regularly to fuel up with lamb satay and gado gado.

Another stall that inspires fierce loyalty is Yati's Laksa,
formerly Jackie's Laksa. Yati's recipe, passed on to her by the
original stallholder, Jackie, is an authentic Malaysian one: it's
thick with coconut milk and spices, poured over two kinds of
noodles and topped with fried tofu, chilli sambal, fresh sliced
chilli and coriander.

For many travellers the first taste, literally, of Darwin comes
with a visit to Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, which run from April
to October. Locals are fond of pooh-poohing Mindil as being
'touristy', and it is true that the markets feature heavily in
campaigns promoting Darwin as a holiday destination. It's also true
that there's a veritable stampede to the beach just before sunset
every Thursday as visitors scramble to photograph the setting sun
(a tip: it sets in the same place Friday to Wednesday as well).

But Mindil is great fun all the same. Unless you're vegetarian,
you've got to love the Roadkill Café, whose motto is 'you kill it,
we grill it'. Try the crocodile (yes, it does taste a bit like
chicken) or the camel (nothing like chicken, but quite a lot like
beef). The other food stalls will take your tastebuds around the
world: Indonesia, Japan, Greece, Italy, Laos and Vietnam all
feature. Even better, you can BYO table, chairs and drinks. The
scores of craft stalls - clothing, jewellery, leather goods and so
on - are a good way to work up a bigger appetite. A smaller, less
frenetic Mindil Markets operates every Sunday afternoon in the dry
season. The Top End's dry season also brings with it the Palmerston
Markets, held on Friday nights in Goyder Square. Now in their 23rd
year, the markets have a family feel, with food and produce stalls,
entertainment and children's rides.

Down 'the track', as Territorians call the Stuart Highway, the
Coolalinga Markets have been offering a less citified market
experience Saturdays for the past 20 years. Live chickens, anyone?
Coolalinga has around 30 fresh produce and food stalls, including
Aussie Grub, which sells 'cow dung' cookies (fat sultana-studded
rock cakes) and sausage rolls it confidently bills as the world's
best.

The grande dames of Darwin's market scene are Yib Kohler, 71,
and 'Lucky' George, 69, who have side-by-side stalls at Rapid Creek
Markets, just as they did over 30 years ago when the market began
with a handful of growers selling produce from the back of their
utes.

Yib rises at 3am to set up her stall, piled with vegetables
including pumpkin vine tips, kangkung and other greens - "things I
eat myself" - and she's more than happy to advise on how to
use the produce she sells. "I'd like to write a book to show people
how to cook it," she says and smiles. By comparison, 'Lucky' drags
the chain, arriving just after 5am to set out great bundles of
plump chillies and Asian greens, or whatever produce her friends
have grown and want her to sell for them.

By the time you've done the rounds of Darwin's markets, you'll
more than likely have a case of what Kylie Kwong calls 'itchy
fingers' - the overwhelming desire, when inspired by fresh produce,
to start cooking right now. Best book a self-catering
apartment.

Each fortnight we round up the most interesting characters from the food world for your listening pleasure. We chat to chefs, cooks, authors, bar tenders and baristas - anyone who has something new and interesting to say about the way we like to eat and drink.